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A FEW MINUTES LATER, after Dana walked into the Victorian, Truffles hurried to the door to greet her. “Aww, look at you sweetie,” Dana said, scooting her up into her arms. She loved her furry little angel. Right now hugging Truffles close to her chest brought her a bit of comfort. The fact remained that just next door, her neighbor was murdered. It was beginning to sink in like quick sand.
Troy was right. There was a dangerous killer on the loose and right there in her own backyard—sort of. The thought sent chills down her spine.
Truffles purred gently as she rubbed her fur against Dana’s cheek.
“You must be hungry sweetie. Let me get you a snack.”
Truffles response was in agreement.
Katie grabbed her keys from the counter and her handbag. “I’m going back to the Café to make sure the store’s still in tact. I’m sure by now that gossip about Brenda’s murder has spread over there.”
“You sure about that?”
“Come on, cuz. Gossip is the only thing in this town that travels quicker than email. You know that.”
“You’re right. I just hope no one mentions a box from Cozy Cupcakes was on the scene. That would not be good for business.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. But it doesn’t look as if she’d been poisoned. That nasty gash on her forehead must have come from a blow to the head. I’m surprised they still haven’t found the weapon.”
Dana’s ears sprung up. “That’s right. They haven’t.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the murder weapon has to be around somewhere.”
“But they didn’t see it at the scene. I overheard one of the officers earlier.”
“Hmm.”
Katie glanced at her watch. “I’d better get back to the café. Besides, we need to get that order ready for this afternoon.”
“I’ll see you soon. I’m just going to feed Truffs then head get a couple of quick errands done.”
“Cool.” Katie left and closed the gate behind her.
The clouds started to look grey. Dana saw a drop of rain hit the cement. The meteorologists had forecasted rain this afternoon.
She then carried Truffles into the kitchen.
“We’d better hurry up Truffs,” she said as she grabbed a kitty bowl and filled it with some Meow Mix. “It’s going to pour with rain later.”
Truffles started on her meal then she stopped and wagged her tail.
Dana felt her stomach drop. Truffles seemed just as shaken as she felt. A low growl of disapproval seemed to part from Truffles’s lips. The little kitty’s ears stood up, then she hissed.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Dana gasped.
Standing at her gate was the gardener, Garth, from next door. But he was looking around in the front garden. What on earth was he doing?
Dana rushed to the front. “Hey, Garth. Are you all right?”
“Hi, Dana. I was just...wondering...I think you dropped your pen.”
“My pen?”
“I found it on the ground here. Looks expensive,” he said, handing her a gold-plated pen. He still had his gardening gloves on.
Dana took the pen from him. She carefully observed it. It looked like one of those expensive personally engraved pens. The name on it read: L. Roberts.
Hmm.
“I don’t know any L. Roberts, but thanks,” Dana said. “Maybe someone was passing by here and it fell out of their pocket.” Dana thought back to yesterday. There was a strange woman that came by yesterday. She was handing out some sort of brochures. Perhaps it was her pen. Dana knew what she was going to do. She was going to Google L. Roberts later. She slid the pen into her pocket. After all, it was found on her property. “Thanks again,” Dana said.
“Oh, no worries. That’s not all I found.”
“Oh?”
He then managed to reach into his pocket and hand her something else.
“I think you dropped this next door.”
Dana looked. It was her pen flash light. “Oh, no. Thanks, Garth. I didn’t realize I’d dropped it.”
“No worries.”
“Um. Garth, how are you doing? I’m sorry about your boss.”
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s crazy what happened to her?”
“When did you last see her?” Dana knew that Troy and his team probably asked Garth that same question but she just needed to ask him.
“I saw her last night just before...before I left for the day.”
“Last night?”
“Well, late in the afternoon. You know it still gets a bit dark around six.”
“Oh, right. Of course. That was a very long day.”
He wiped his brow with his dirty gardening glove. “Yeah it was, but it goes with the territory.”
“Can I get you some coffee?”
“Nah, I’m good. I have to get going soon.” He glanced around nervously.
“Garth, you mentioned that you worked late...Did you see anyone or anything suspicious last night?”
Garth looked around then inched closer to Dana. “Actually, is it all right if I speak to you for a second?”
“Sure. Absolutely.”
Dana showed Garth into the living room. She noticed he still had his gloves on.
“Would you like to take those off? Your hands must be all sweaty.”
“Nah, I’m good thanks.”
“Um...okay, if you’re...um...comfortable.”
He looked around the living room. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. My grandmother loved vintage stuff.”
“I can tell. I remember seeing your grandma when I started working part time for Mrs. B next door.”
“You must have fond memories.”
“I do. She was really sweet. She used to invite us in for cupcakes and tea. She was so hospitable.”
Dana felt a pang of longing. “Yes, she really was.” Her voice was quiet. Dana missed Grandma Rae more than anything in this world.
“It was so nice of Mrs. B to bake that cake for my grandmother for the memorial,” Dana said, filling the old iron kettle with tap water. She then placed it on the stove top and turned on the burner.
“I’m sure she was happy to do it,” Garth said. “She always used to say that your grandma was the only true good neighbor she could trust.”
Dana grinned. Mrs. B. wasn’t easy to get along with, but Grandma Rae was known for her sweet charm and her welcoming demeanor. She bet her nans was able to charm even Mrs. B. “You know it’s funny that you just said Mrs. B thought my grandmother was the only neighbor she could trust.” Dana thought out loud.
“I don’t get it.”
“Mrs. B wasn’t very trusting of too many people. And she didn’t really have many relatives visiting.”
“That’s true.”
“I was surprised to find out about her niece inheriting everything.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“She had a long running feud with her only brother. But he passed away. She’d cut off all communications with him before that and from her family. Her brother had one child, Brenda. But the last time she saw Brenda was when Brenda was a baby. She was at the christening or something, but since that time, nothing. No contact. They hadn’t kept in touch over the years. You know how family politics and feuds can go?”
“I sure do.”
“She always used to say that she would leave everything she had to her cat. But then old Mittens passed away last year.”
“I remember,” Dana said, softly. She remembered Mrs. B’s aging Siamese cat. That woman loved her cat more than she loved people.
“Then she said that she would leave everything she had to her staff.”
“Her staff?” Dana’s ears burned. “She actually told you that?”
“Oh, no. We overheard her talking to some lawyer on the phone to make changes to her will after Mittens died.”
“I see.”
Well, this was a new development. “So it must have been quite a shock to find out that she decided to leave everything to her estranged niece.”
“Hey, I know what it looks like. But it’s nothing like that at all.”
“Well, it sure doesn’t look too good. You’ll need to tell this to the police, Garth.”
“Why?”
“Because...” Actually, the more Dana thought about it, it would certainly give them a motive to wanting to see Brenda disappear. Because of Brenda’s presence, Garth and Henrietta were no longer heirs to Mrs. B’s estate.
When the kettle finished boiling, Dana turned off the stove and filled two mugs and made steaming hot black coffee. It was just what she needed right now and she was sure that Garth—especially if he ever pulled off those dreadful gardening gloves, would appreciate, too.
She handed Garth a cup of coffee and grabbed a plate and placed a few tea biscuits on them. Garth seemed grateful for the light snack.
“Thanks, Dana. You’re just as sweet as your late grandma.”
“Hey, no worries.”
She saw how awkward Garth was with his gloves, trying to hold the cup.
“Garth, why don’t you just take off your gloves?”
He hesitated for a moment. “I guess, you’ll find out sooner or later.”
He slowly slid off his gardening gloves and Dana’s jaw fell open.